(Orlando) In a game they had no right to lose against the NBA’s worst team, the Toronto Raptors got the job done by beating the Orlando Magic 102-89 on Friday night. This victory also allowed the Canadian team to join the Chicago Bulls in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
Posted at 10:49 p.m.
Fred VanVleet and Scottie Barnes scored 19 points apiece as six Raptors (45-32) tallied more than ten points for a fifth straight win and 11and in 13 games.
Pascal Siakam scored twice with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
In the Magic camp (20-58), Mo Bamba scored twice (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Ignas Brazdeikis collected 13 points. Markelle Fultz added 12 points.
The Raptors took advantage of 14 turnovers committed by the Magic in the first half to settle in control of the game. An 18-2 streak late in the second quarter allowed the visitors to retreat to the locker room with a 59-46 lead.
In the second half, the Raptors continued their good work by imposing an aggressive defense that gave the Magic a hard time as they finished the game with 21 turnovers. The gap was 22 points after three quarters.
VanVleet was particularly effective in both directions, stealing the ball from his opponents five times.
“It was Fred VanVleet playing like Fred VanVleet,” commented Gary Trent Jr. His record speaks for itself. He’s been great all season. »
Despite a clear domination by head coach Nick Nurse’s troops, the locals refused to give up and benefited from a brief burst of life to close the gap to ten points, but it was a waste of time.
The temporary downturn of his team still forced Nurse to keep his best players on the field much longer than expected against a bottom-ranked team.
“I’m used to managing the game in front of me,” Nurse said. If a player comes from the bench and contributes, he can get more minutes, but that was not the case tonight. I think our starters played more minutes because it was necessary. »
There are five games left in the regular season for the Toronto team and the next four will be at home.